Sun 02/08 - Pick yourself up and dust yourself off

Sun 02/08 - Pick yourself up and dust yourself off


Not every run is great, and not every run is incredibly fun. Some days, like yesterday, I never really get into a groove. I didn’t really feel strong until I hit the 3:30 hr mark yesterday, and by then my body and mind had already agreed that it was time to head back to the car. I spent the first 10 miles trying to assess why I felt like I was running in slow motion, especially in light of the speed work that felt really good earlier in the week (3x1600 @ 6:10). At this point I came to bridge over a creek on the Old Growth Trail in the Mac Forest. I came down to it, turning to the right, both feet to the left of my center of gravity, hit a wet spot with my foot strike on the bridge, and ended up completely sprawled out, face an inch above the ground, with my left foot hanging over the edge of the bridge, and a nice bruise on my right shin. After a few minutes of walking to ease the pain in my shin, I was no worse for the wear, but my ego had taken a big hit. It was just that kind of day. I continued on in the best way I knew how. This being three weeks from Hagg Lake, I had to get some miles in, so I ran as far away from my car as quickly as possible (thru the Maze over to the bottom of extendo) so that by the time I actually acknowledged that I wasn’t going the full 28 today that I wanted, I had already signed up for 25 just to get back to my car. It was good enough. It's good for me to get in miles when I feel a bit off. I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and made more tracks. Not every run is perfect, and there are and will be days when I question my motivation and my fitness, but in the grand scheme of things, one mediocre long run is not the end of the world. Anyways I've ended laid out on the trail two of the last three weekends, and given a choice, a hard landing on a bridge is better than in the brambles. It's ok to fall, and its ok to cut short a run when I feel off. Hagg Lake is in two weeks, 10k, 5k and 1mile runs sometime in the month thereafter.